


Life in the Fast Lane

by whyareallthesestucktogether (backb4thekick)



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Joel is sort of an idiot and Ellie is scared to death, Motorcycles, but he be like "i got chu"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-19 21:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1484695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backb4thekick/pseuds/whyareallthesestucktogether
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joel has a motorcycle and Ellie has doubts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life in the Fast Lane

“Come on, Ellie. Get on.”  
“Are you sure this is safe? You’re gonna fucking get us killed, Joel!” She protests in disbelief at what he’s telling her to do.  
“You’ll be fine. Just hold onto me, and enjoy the ride.” He encourages.

She gives him a look that’s bordering on unsure and sheer terror, but she reluctantly secures herself onto the back of the bike and holds onto him. His muscles tense up when she places her hands on his waist and presses into him. He can feel the fear in the way she clutches, but he doesn’t worry. Once she gets into it, it won’t be so bad. He puts on some cheap plastic sunglasses and revs the bike, the roar of it deafening to the ears.

“You may wanna hold on tighter, I’m gonna punch it.” He warns, yelling over the sound of the bike.  
“No-no! Joel you better no--!” He revs it up and speeds off and her grip is so tight, he swears her nails pierced through the fabric of his shirt. The speed soon evens out and he shouts over the rumbling engine, “Ellie, how we doin’?”  
“You fucking asshole!” She shrieks, “You scared the shit out of me!”  
He chuckles and speeds it up a little more, “JOEL! Oh my god, this is how I’m gonna die.” He hears her panic behind him. He lets the speed even out and she calms down, her grip becoming more steady. 

The bike jerks slightly and he hears her begin to scream then suppress it, “Joel, I swear to fucking god if I fall off this…” However, she doesn’t return back to her death grip. “You seem to be gettin’ the hang of it!” He screams to her as encouragement, “We’re gonna be fine!”

“Holy shit, holy shit…” She repeats for awhile, but as the ride becomes smoother, she calms down. All of a sudden she’s laughing and she leans into him.

The wind whips around them and Joel pushes on slightly, earning an emphatic “Whooooo!” from Ellie. He smiles because she’s having fun and so is he, and he’s happy they can make moments like this. For a second, it feels normal--like they aren’t in the apocalypse and at the end of this road, there won’t be a bunch of abandoned cars waiting for them as a vestige of what the world used to be. For a second, it feels like living--for the sheer pleasure of living--not survival. They’re barrelling through that second on a motorcycle and the whole idea just astounds him.

He pushes it to go a little faster and earns no protest from her, her raucous laughter continuing as her loose hairs fly about her face.  
“How’s it goin’ back there, baby girl?” He asks to make sure she’s alright.  
“Death seems less certain!” She yells in reply. He punches it once more, and yeah, she screams, “FUCK!” but the bike slows down until it’s at a steady roll and he cuts the engine.

“Alright, you can get off. Stand up for a second and get your bearings.” She shakily steps off the bike, her eyes wide and her hair a mess and she looks around for a bit, speechless.  
“That was actually kinda awesome.” She finally admits, and she holds up her hand for a high-five. Joel smiles and is happy to oblige and when their hands meet, she hisses “Yeah!”  
“I totally thought you were going to get us fucking killed. Like run into shit and crash. And you’re such an asshole for teasing me like that, but fuck! That was so cool! Can we do it again?!”

Joel smiles, “Well how else are we supposed to get it back to Tommy’s?”   
“We’re keeping it?!”  
“Well, yeah. I’m sure Tommy and Maria need something to fight about and while they fight over if Tommy gets to ride it, you and I can use it.” Ellie smiles at that plan.  
“You’re pretty cool, Joel. For being old as fuck.”  
“Call me old as fuck again and I’ll hit it full speed as soon as you get on.” He teases. She gets back on the bike, smoothing out her hair, taking a deep breath, and gripping back onto him again.  
“You ready?”  
“Yeah, but one more thing.”  
“What’s that?”  
“You’re old as fuck.”


End file.
